Mental Retirement

When I contemplated retirement, I focussed on the physical and spiritual opportunities that would become available.  Despite the fact that my career had always been mentally challenging, the mental aspect of retirement was not a consideration for me.

Since I retired at the end of March, I have been sidetracked by health issues.  I have struggled to tackle any of the physical projects that I had anticipated.   This summer, my efforts to improve my health centered around resting, being outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine, and walking through and around our neighbourhood parks.    The time in nature gave me ample opportunity to focus on my spiritual well-being. 

Strangely, even once I retired, I did not actively pursue or even consider my mental well-being.   I was perfectly happy just releasing all of the mental clutter that I had accumulated over the previous decades.     

To be honest, I was never on the greatest terms with my mind.  My conscious mind was generally a battleground of deadlines and details, numbers and technology,  co-workers and clients,  and fear of failure – or in the case of winter driving – fear of possible injury or death.    My off work hours focussed on worrying about family, household responsibilities,  and personal finances.  

My unconscious mind was another matter.   I knew in my heart that the subconscious mind was a phenomenal source of power.  If I could convince my subconscious mind that I wanted to radically change my life in one way or another, I knew it would be as good as done.   Alas, my subconscious mind seemed to be all but unreachable at the best of times.

Eight months into retirement, I have come to make an astonishing discovery.  While I have been focussing on my physical and spiritual well-being, my mental well-being has increased to an all-time high.

As I walked, rested, and relaxed, the battlefield that was my conscious mind has cleared.  It is not a blank slate.  It is this functional space where I have become aware of  my surroundings and notice things like birds and squirrels, clouds and trees.   These things that I notice trigger a curiousity and interest that sends me searching for more in-depth knowledge of the world that surrounds me.  At home, household chores like planning and preparing  meals are no longer done on auto-pilot.  I actually source out nutritional values, unfamiliar  ingredients and new recipes.  Now, when I pick up my cellphone, rather than wasting time on mind-numbing games, I find myself sourcing out interesting books to read or intellectually stimulating subjects to explore.

Recently, in an attempt to ease my breathing issues, I have been sourcing out meditations to aid in deep relaxation.    I have tried a number of different videos on You Tube, from singing bowls to spirit animals, to various guided meditations, and more.   Amazingly enough, I have found myself  getting more and more in touch with my subconscious mind.   (Apparently, it was always there and it was not being deliberately obtuse.   It was just buried under all of the clutter of my conscious mind.)  Reaching my subconscious mind has given me so much depth that I have been lacking in my life.  It has been an incredible experience.

I am so excited and grateful for this retirement time of my life.    For the first time ever I have this opportunity to focus on strengthening and balancing my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.  The more I do so, the more of myself I have to share with others – more joy, more excitement, more compassion, more kindness, more love, more beauty, more of everything that truly matters in life.

The longer I am retired, the more I realize – Retirement is such an enchanting time in a person’s life. 🌟